SELLING THEMSELVES FOR THE LONG HAUL

We all know Gellar’s past contains vampire slaying, but did you also know it includes educating consumers on how Burger King is the superior fast food restaurant in 1981?

Anne Hathaway

The former princess of Genovia was once dreaming a very different dream: that her neighborhood sweetheart wouldn’t have to move in a 1997 Better Homes and Gardens real estate commercial.

Selling Themselves for the Long Haul

Every acting career starts somewhere, and for these A-list talents, it was commercials

By Lauren LaMagna

MORE THAN YOU MAY EVEN BE AWARE, COMMERCIALS ARE THE

starting point for countless working actors. The reasons are simple: A commercial is a reputable credit actors can put on their résumés, it provides on-set experience, and it can offer legit networking opportunities and cash. It isn’t surprising, then, that many of today’s most successful stars got their start shilling products in 30-second spots. From hawking burgers to shampoo to Preparation H, here’s a peek at 17 actors’ pre-fame commercial pasts.

Ben Affleck

The “Justice League” star got an early career break with a 1989 Burger King commercial. (Safe to say the fast food joint wasn’t part of his Batman regimen, however.)

Drew Barrymore

You probably know that Barrymore got her break very young, but she started in commercials even before “E.T.” She can be seen all the way back in a 1979 spot for Pillsbury.

Steve Carell

Prior to his days on “The Office,” Carell was a peppy employee at a different sort of business, as evidenced by his 1989 commercial for Brown’s Chicken.

Courteney Cox

Before she was a friend on “Friends”—with the best apartment in New York City— Cox was selling Tampax in 1985.

Bryan Cranston

He’s known as the one who knocks on “Breaking Bad,” but Cranston started out as the guy in the 1980s Preparation H commercials.

Geena Davis

Long before this Oscar winner was a beloved baseball star (“A League of Their Own”) or having a girls’ weekend with her BFF (“Thelma & Louise”), Davis was the face of Chicago radio station WMET.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Even though DiCaprio’s journey to fame was an accelerated one, he still did his fair share of commercials before his days of international stardom. For example, a little Leo can be seen selling Bubble Yum bubble gum in 1989.

Morgan Freeman

Freeman is basically the closest thing Hollywood has to God—and it should not be shocking that even he once sold Listerine, back in the late 1970s.

Jennifer Lawrence

It’s hard to imagine the last decade of film without Lawrence. But before the Oscar winner was an “it” girl, she was advertising an upcoming season of the MTV reality show “My Super Sweet 16” in 2005.

Matt LeBlanc

While his “Friends” character has a sordid commercial past, LeBlanc’s own commercial history is much less embarrassing: a 1988 spot for Cherry 7UP.

Demi Moore

Of course the coolest chick of the 1990s starred in a minute-long Diet Coke commercial in 1988.

Brad Pitt

Before he won over all of Hollywood (and won an Academy Award), Pitt was already winning hearts in a 1989 spot for Pringles.

Keanu Reeves

Prior to being the chosen one, Reeves showed off his many talents in a 1986 Corn Flakes commercial. (His dancing skills were an obvious harbinger of the stunt work that would come to define his career.)

Paul Rudd

Everyone’s favorite age-defying superhero got some practice saving the world in an early ’90s Super Nintendo commercial!

Sharon Stone

In the days before she shocked audiences in “Basic Instinct” and “Casino,” Stone was the perfect spokesmodel for Finesse Shampoo, with that lush 1980s hair.